Shovel attachment.



G. J. WALSH. SHOVEL ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1909.

Patented M1229, 1910.

Q/ hiiwwwo SATES PA GEORGE .T. WALSH, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SHOVEL ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GnoRGn J. WVALsn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shovel Attachments, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shovel attachments.

One of the objects of the invention is the construction of a simpledevice to be easily attached to a shovel that will effectively protectthe shovel against injury due to the constant application of footpressure thereto.

Another object of the invention is the construction of a deviceattachable to shovels that will efiectively protect the shovels againstinjury due to the application of foot pressure thereto and will alsoprotect the shoe and foot of the operator.

WVith the above and other objects in view the invention embraces certainconstructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, clearly describedin the following specification and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the application of the device toa shovel, Fig. 2 is a detail bottom plan view, and Fig. 3 is a detailsectional view of the device.

Referring to the accompanying drawings 1 denotes a shovel having ahandle 2 connected thereto by means of a socket 3. The shovel may be ofany construction and forms no part of my invention.

In practice the handle of the shovel is grasped and pressure applied sothat the shovel will enter the ground to be excavated. When the shoveldoes not readily penetrate or enter the ground pressure is applied bymeans of the foot to the upper horizontal edge of the shovel. As someshovels are used in very hard ground or for the excavation of rock andsimilar materials it is necessary for the operator to frequently applyhis foot to the upper edge of the shovel so as to add to the pressurewhich he is capable of exerting by means of his arms. This frequentpractice of applying the foot to the shovel, often by means of sharpblows, soon causes the shovel to break down at the engaged point, thusresulting in its early disuse. Another result of the practice is thatthe shoe and often the foot of the operator is injured, all of whichlimit the capacity of excavation. By means of my improved device thesediliiculties are overcome without rendering the shovel less efiicient orcausing it to be less useful.

The device is formed out of a single piece of metal or material, andconsists of a pro tecting attachment 4, having a bifurcated shovelengaging or saddle portion 5, and a transversely disposed edge engaginghead 6. The head 6 extends on either side of the saddle portion 5 and ispreferably provided with outwardly extending flanges 7, whereby the headis made considerably wider than the thickness of the shovel.

The protecting device is attached to the shovel by means of the saddleportion 5, which is adapted to be forced onto the shovel, so that thesame will not be displaced when mounted thereon.

The device is preferably formed with a longitudinal curve greater orlesser than the curve of the shovel and the legs of the device areeither curved toward each other or angularly inclined toward each otherso that the same will bind on the shovel when forced thereon, the outeropposite portions of the legs being rounded or beveled.

\Vhen placed in position on the shovel the protecting head of the deviceserves as an abutment, of a non-cutting nature.

Owing to the greater surface which the protecting head presents to theengaging foot a greater pressure can be applied to the shovel and theshoe or foot of the operator will not be injured by the repeatedapplication of pressure thereto.

As the head 6 extends over a considerable portion of the shovel edge thesame is thus prevented from spreading or splitting.

Having described my invention I desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A device of the character described consisting of a shovel engagingportion and a head thereon, said engaging portion being adapted tostraddle the upper edge of a shovel, the straddling portion being curvedto conform approximately to the curve of the said edge of the shovel butvarying sufliciently to bind with said edge when forced thereon.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE J. WALSH. lVitnesses:

ANDREW DE VoTI, Gus. Goons.

